Advocacy

Dental Hygiene Profession in Virginia
ORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS PROMOTING TOTAL HEALTH

Healthcare Workforce Resources in Virginia 

• Thanks to the Virginia Legislature and Governor, Virginia is part of the Dentist Dental Hygienist Compact. The inaugural Compact commission meeting was held August 28, 2024
  
  
• Approximately 150 dental hygienists graduate annually from state-supported, accredited college schools and programs 
  
  
• Annual Workforce Survey of the Virginia Department of Health Professions’ Healthcare Workforce Data Center reports for 2023
• 6304 dental hygienists are licensed to practice in Virginia  
• Of the hygienists licensed in 2023 94% renewed their licenses
• 8237 dentists are licensed to practice in Virginia
• Of the dentists licensed in 2023 89% renewed their licenses

Registered Dental Hygienist (RDH): Scope of Practice

• Licensed in dental hygiene as a primary care provider delivering education, assessment, diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic services that support overall health through the promotion of optimal oral health
  
  
• Under remote, general and indirect supervision, provides oral cancer screening, risk assessment, scaling, root planing and polishing of teeth, radiographs, sealants, oral health education, local anesthesia and all minimally invasive procedures to slow and reverse early disease progression 

Medicaid Providers:  Recognition of the Dental Hygienist

• As a Medicaid Provider hygienists help Dentistry extend its care reach to underserved and vulnerable populations
  
  
• 19 states remunerate dental hygienists as Medicaid Providers
  
  
• Credentialing dental hygienists into Virginia’s Medicaid Provider system will expand the public’s direct access to dental care and the services of: oral cancer screening, risk assessment, scaling, root planing and polishing of teeth, radiographs, sealants, oral health education, local anesthesia and all minimally invasive procedures to slow and reverse early disease progression 

Dental Hygiene College Education and Licensure  

• Seven supported, accredited college/university programs with two distance sites offer associate, baccalaureate, and/or master’s degrees * Virginia Peninsula Community College has paused the Dental Hygiene Program for 2024-2025

• Intensive study ranging from 72 to 122 college credit hours including, but not limited to biomedical, dental and dental hygiene sciences, medical and dental emergencies, pharmacology and local anesthesia, nutrition, and extensive clinical practice are mandated as regulated by the Commission of Dental Accreditation

• Licensure requires graduation from an accredited Dental Hygiene School/Program, passage of the comprehensive, written National Board Examination and the Virginia Board of Dentistry recognized clinical exam and 15 hours CE for annual renewal 

Remote Supervision:  Public Health Benefits

• Overcoming uneven regional distribution of dentists to help alleviate challenges in accessing oral healthcare
  
  
• Utilization of a broad distribution of dental hygienists in HPSAs and rural areas having a greater need for care
  
  
• Direct access to dental hygiene care in community settings e.g. rural health and safety net dental clinics, long-term care facilities, schools
  
  
• Enhanced integrated model of healthcare working with the medical and nursing professions
  
  
• Direct and purposeful referrals to dental homes
  
  
• Collaborative services with all state agencies working to expand access to healthcare